I told you last week that Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure has proposed a proposed gift ban ordinance for consideration by County Council. Two members of Council must agree to sponsor this before before it can be introduced. All nine should do so.
Although Northampton County's Home Rule Charter does contain a gift ban, the subsequently adopted Administrative Code actually contradicts it. Under these circumstances, it would be impossible to enforce violations.
The ordinance proposed by McClure is based on Governor Josh Shapiro's gift ban. It is less restrictive than Bethlehem's, under which a public official or employee is unable to accept so much as a cup of coffee. But it bans elected officials from accepting tickets to recreational events like ArtsQuest concerts or IronPigs games. I doubt this amenity actually sways anyone to vote a certain way, but it is a form of soft corruption. It is also terrible optics. When a public official is feted like this, people notice.
Northampton County Proposed Gift Ban by BernieOHare on Scribd
No comments:
Post a Comment
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.